Metallic rope and cable



May 13,*1941.

A. L. NOYER ETAL METALLIC ROPE AND CABLE Filed July 16, 1940 ALV/N ,Lf/Vorn? AMM/wm Mc E40/MN lyNvENToR ATTORNE jaw Patented May 13, 1941 METALLIC ROPE AND loAnLE Alvin L. Noyer and Alexander McEachei-n, Portland, Oreg., assignors to Wickwire Spencer Steel Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 16, 1940, serial 345,816

(Cl. v'1--14'0 7 Claims.

This invention relates to all wire rope or cable (except locked wire rope or locked coil cable) having practically any type of strand` construc- -tion and either a ber core or an independent wire rope core and is not affected by the lay of the wire rope.

The quintessence of our invention is 4to provide soft wires made of lead, or an alloy metal possessing similar qualities as lead, in wire rope having a core and a plurality of strands made of wires substantially harder than the lead wires or similar alloy and positioning them in the helicoidal interstices, commonly known as valleys, formed between the outer strands of the wire rope so that they form the base of these valleys and prevent said strands from contacting and binding each other.

'Ihe causes of premature wear and destruction of wire rope are many. Among some of -them are the improper alignment ofl sheaves; the use of sheaves and drums having the wrong tread size; improper gapping between the strands which usually resultslin the unequal division of the load on the strands and thereby causing high strands; and the binding of adjacent strands 'causing the nicking of the strand wires in the valleys of the rope. Ihere are'other causes of rope wear which are inherent in the present type of wire rope construction. 'I'hese include the normal tolerance allowed in manufacture for -permitting the strands to adjust themselvesrelative to each other and to the core; the inherent elasticity 'in the strands, the degree of which is determined by the length of lay of each strand, the stretching of the whole rope under loa'd, and the` sliding and creeping vof the strands relative to each other in order to come into perfect balance during the -bending of the rope over sheaves and drums. All

of these factors of movement, pressures, and .s

stresses and many others produce undesirable frictional engagement between the strands that cause a reduction of the service life of the wire ropes as .they are now manufactured.

It is within the contemplation of our invention to overcome' the inherent disadvantages of the present type of wire rope construction. This is accomplished by incorporating into Wire rope of means which will, in some measure, alleviate, if not completely eliminate, a great many of the causes for wire rope wear.

without affecting its compactness, or basically altering its construction.

Another object of our invention is to incorpo- A rate into wire rope of the types now manufactured wires made of a soft metal such as lead or alloy of similar qualities, which act as buffers and take up and cushion the radial compressive load caused by the stretching and readjustment of the strands under load so that any friction created by these various movements is normally not betweenthe wires in the strands but between the strand wires and the soft wires.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means which materially assist in preventing the entrance of foreign subject matter into the core of the wire rope and which materially' reduces the corrosion of the under portions of the Y strands of the wire rope. f

One of the important objects of our invention is to fabricate into and make'a part of the wire rope of means which will practically eliminate'the common fault of adjacent strands nicking-each other and which will materially minimize the internal friction between the strands. v I,

For a full understanding of the invention and the advantages to be derived therefrom and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction and the means employed for effecting the results, reference must be made to the following detailed description and to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a detail, transverse, sectional view of a fancifully constructed Wire rope or cable embodying the principles of our invention Figure 2 is a detail, transverse, sectional viewv `of a fancifully constructed wire rope or cable constructed in accord-ance with the principles of this invention, showing an independent Wire rope as the core which itself embodies the principles of our invention; and

Figure 3 isa perspective view of the end of `a fancifully constructed wire rope or vcable con- The main object of our invention is to incorstructed as shown' in Figure 2 with some of the ,strands removed to more graphically depict the' position of the soft Wires relative to the strands and to each other.

Corresponding and like parts are .referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the same reference characters. n

'I'he views in the drawing disclose, for illustrative purposes only, Wire ropes fabricated from strands incorporating various types of strand construction which are employed to form a complete wire rope or cable. `It should =be understood,

therefore, that Ithe intent of such a disclosure is merely to illustrate graphically that our invention is adapted for use in wire ropes or cables fabricated not only from the representative strands shown in the views, but also from practically every other .type of strand construction.

Referring now to Figure 1,.there is.shown a cross sectional yview of a wire rope, designated generally by reference character A, which has a fiber core l made of hemp or any other suitable material. A plurality of hard wire strands of uniform cross section, generally designated by reference character B, are helically wound compactly around the core I. `It is obvious that any nu'mbermf layers of strands may be employed,

depending upon the size of wire rope or cable that it is desired to produce.

.'During fabrication of practically all types of wire rope, helicoidal interstices 2, customarily called valleys, are formed between the strands B.

Wires- 3, possessing' the desired predetermined cross-sectional area and made of soft metal, such as lead or an alloy possessing similar qualities, are positioned within and form the bases of the intersticesor -valleys 2 and are adapted to maintain the outer strands B, which form a part of v thev completed rope A, out of intimate contact VWith each other. The shape of these soft wires 3 -at the time of their incorporation into the wire rope A may be round, square or rectangular in cross section, or may have any other desirable normally form shallow, helical grooves, as shown at 5' and 5', in the sides of the said soft wires 3. By positioning the soft vwires t as stated, it at life of the wire rope into which they are inserted.

The applicability of the invention to a wire rope or cablelwhich has an independent wire rope center is graphically illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.' In these gures reference characters B designate generally the outer strands-of the wire rope orable designated,generally by reference character A', and referencecharacter C desigates generally the outer' strands of the independent wire rope center core designated generally by reference character D. Sofi; wires 8 are positioned in the interstices I formed during the fabrication of the independent wire rope D forming' the center of the completedwire rope A'. Soft wires. 6 possess the identical structural and other characteristics and perform the same functions as heretofore .related in describing soft wires 3 disclosed in Figure 1. These soft wires 6 are compressed by those wires -of the strands the sealing of the interstices 1 of the independent once appears obviousthat there is anK alternating arrangement between-the outer strands B and thesoft wires 3 an'dfthat, regardless of the deformation of the softy wires 3,this alternation arrangement exists at all' -times andprevents thel wires or strands l andI l", as the case may be,I which define the limits .of the interstices or valleys 2, from contacting each other.

The positioningl of soft wires 3, Figure 1, alternately between the sides of the strands B has the effect of practically sealing the core from the entrance of foreign matter through the interstices 2, especially when the sides of the strands embed themselves into the sides of the soft wires.

that the insertion of the soft 3 into the,

wire rope A is not primarily for the purpose of increasing the tensile strength of the rope structure, although the soft wires may have suiiicient tensile strength to take care of their own weight v7which necessarily is added to the weight of the wire rope A. Therefore, it is obvious that the destruction of one or more ofthe soft wires 3 4does not materially affect the tensile'strength ofthe rope in which they are positioned. .It

' also must be pointed out that, should any portionsvofthese soft-wires 3 become destroyed Athrough use, the remaining portions would con- --tinu'e1 to perform their function of prolonging the as shown in l" which dene the transverse limits of the intersticosv 1 and seal the interior of independent wire rope D. The interstices 8 formed between the outer strands B' of wire rope A' are also lled to the appropriate limits by soft wires 9 which possess the structural and other characteristics I andperform the identical functions as are performed by the soft Wires 3 disclosed in Figure 1 and soft wires 6 forming a part of the structure v of the independent wire rope D forming the center of wire rope By fabricating a wire rope in the manner ill trated in Figures 2 and 3 heretofore described, an appreciably greater degree of durability and extension of the life of a rope so constructed is attained, because of the ad: vantages heretofore pointed out in describing the. structural characteristics of a wire rope costructed as shown in Figure 1 and, also, because wire rope D, which forms the center` of the wire rope A', insures against any material displacement of the outer strands B' from their position upon the crowns I0 of their respective strand C forming a part of the independent wire rope D.

' 'I'his is a common faul in' the construction of the Furthermore, the posipresent type of .wire ropes having an independent wire ropecenter, because' of the fact that it iscommon practice to make .the lay of the'outer strands of an independent wire rope centershorter than the lay of the outer strands of the wire rope of which it is a part. f

Having described the details o constructionv and pointed out the functions and advantages of the invention, We assert that it is not our wish to be limited to the exact shape and size of the soft wires or to their exact positin shown in the drawing, forv their shape, size and position may' be varied in some degree without'materially departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as defined in the appended What We .claim is:

1. In a Wire rope or cable ofL the class described composed of a central core and'a plurality of strands surrounding said core, of means for pree venting the adjacent sides of the strands from contacting each other, said means having a high degree of ductilityv'and permitting the embedding therein of vthose strand wires which define the transverselimits ofthe valleys formed between said strands.

2. In a wire rope or .cable composed of a core and a plurality of strands helically positioned around lthe core and forming a single unit therewith, of a soft Wire disposed between each of the strands adapted to prevent each of said strands claims. l

from contacting each other, the cross-sectional l interstices 'provided between said strands, said.

wires adapted to act as buffers and to cushion the radial pressure placed onthe rope or cable under load.

4. In 'a wire rope including a' central c ore andA 6. Arwire rope .or cable comprising a formed of a central core, a plurality of strands -peripherally`arranged in helical relation to each other around said core, said strands' fabricated from hard wires, and a plurality of soft wires arrangedin helical relation to' said core andsaid .a plurality of outer strands covering said core, A

of Va, plurality of soft Wires, equal in number to the number of strands covering said core, posi- Y tioned inv but not filling `the interstices formed between the strandsand forming the bases there# of, said wires adapted to be helically grooved by the pressure of the'strands and to thereby seal the core against entrance therein of foreign matter.

. 5. A wire rope including a center core and a plurality of outer strands covering said core, of a plurality of lead wires or wires made of an alloy possessing substantially the same qualities, equal in number to the number of strands coveringsaid core, 'positioned in but not filling the lnterstices y forrnedV between'the' strands and forming the .bases thereof, said lead wires adapted to be helically grooved by the pressure of the strands and to thereby seal the core against entrance therein o! foreign matter.

strands; said strands and soft- Wires being dis posed in alternating relation to each other with the soft wires forming the bases of but not lling the interstices found between the strands, and those wires of the strands which dene the jtransverse limits of the interstices adapted for being embedded in the sides of the soft wires. when the wire rope or cable isplaced under load. 7. As a new article of manufacture,a wire rope or cable possessing the well-known structural characteristics, and soit wires, possessing the desired cross-sectionalarea for forming the base for but not completelyiilling each of the interstices or valleys located' between the strandsof the wire rope or cable, disposed between the aides of the outer strands of said type of wi're rope or cable, said soft wires adapted toprevent the louter strands from Vcontacting each other and permitting those wires o! said strands which de`V fine the transverse limits of the interstices Aor valleys to embed themselves therein, thereby to form 'shallow `helical grooves on the sides ot the soft wires. l

^ ALVIN L. NOYER. A

ALEXANDER-McEACHERN. 

